GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha says construction of a regional food hub designed to strengthen food security and boost agricultural exports across the Caribbean is about 50 per cent complete and remains on track for completion by the end of the year.
Construction at the Regional Food Hub at Yarrowkabra, taken in March 2026. (Photo credit: Ministry of Agriculture)The facility, being built at Yarrowkabra along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, forms part of Guyana’s efforts to support regional food production and trade under the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) food security agenda.
“As I am speaking now, approximately 50 per cent of the work has been completed. It’s ongoing,” Mustapha told the Department of Public Information.
He said local contractors are expected to complete their phase of the project by the end of September, after which United States-based company Blumberg Grain will install cold storage and other systems required to make the facility operational.
The project began in 2023 and gained momentum last July when the Guyana government signed a memorandum of understanding with Blumberg Grain and Logistics.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the facility will include grain silos, refrigerated storage, container-loading facilities and digital inventory systems. It is expected to reduce post-harvest losses by up to 30 per cent while supporting increased exports of rice, corn, poultry feed and processed feed to CARICOM markets.
Mustapha said the hub is intended to serve as a central collection and export point for agricultural produce from across Guyana.
“When we have this food hub up and running, it will be very active, and we’ll purchase products from farmers around the country, and that will be there to export overseas,” he said.
The minister said the facility would help connect local farmers to export markets and contribute to regional efforts aimed at reducing the Caribbean’s food import bill.
The initiative supports CARICOM’s “25 by 2025” programme, which seeks to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent through increased agricultural production and trade within the bloc.
Mustapha also linked the project to the work of the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), which assists farmers in finding markets for their produce.
The food hub forms part of a broader food security strategy being promoted by President Irfaan Ali, who has repeatedly advocated for Guyana to play a leading role in supplying food to the region.
